Published: Monday, July 21, 2014 at 05:53 PM.

PENSACOLA — In the second day of his trial on charges of harboring stolen military explosives, Vaughn Pottle testified that his Army special forces team supervisor ordered him to take two large bins full of TNT and dynamite and move them from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Florida.

He also told jurors that most, if not all, members of his 12-man Army 7th Special Forces Group team knew that he had the explosives in his home in Baker and that he was regularly asked to bring some of them to training missions on Eglin Air Force Base.

Pottle was the last in a long list of soldiers who took the stand in federal court on Tuesday.

The testimony revealed some undisputed details about where the explosives came from while leaving many questions about who knew what and when.

The Army’s own investigators tracked the cache of explosives found in Pottle’s home in December back to an August 2010 mission when a 7th Group team was sent to Argentina to train their military.

In an unusual twist, the mission was called off after less than a week.

The munitions were returned to the United States in tact and should have been returned to the armory at Fort Bragg where the team was then stationed.

They weren't, investigators discovered.

Days after the Argentine mission was called off, Pottle, a new special forces soldier, joined the team.

He testified that when he showed up, the explosives left over from the Argentina trip were loose in the team’s meeting room at Fort Bragg.

He said he didn’t ask any questions about it.

“When you are a brand new Green Beret, you pretty much keep your mouth shut so I didn't mention it for awhile,” he said.

He knew it was perhaps “unconventional,” but he thought that came with the job and was trying to become a part of the team.

When it came time to move to Eglin in 2011, Pottle planned to pack up and move his belongings himself instead of having the Army relocate him, and he testified that Master Sgt. Marc Castleberry, his team supervisor and the team sergeant on the Argentina mission, asked him to bring the explosives with him.

Pottle did, packing them in crates with rags and plastic wrap so he could “safely” transport them in his U-haul truck.

For most of the time since then, he has stored them in the homes in Baker he has shared with his son, his ex-wife and later his fiancée and her child.

Once at Eglin, Pottle said he was routinely asked to bring some of the explosives from his home to the range for training and that most of his team was aware he was doing that.

He said Castleberry helped him move the explosives once to another 7th Group soldier’s home and then back to his house. His ex-wife, Carie Larson, who was living with him at the time, testified the same.

Castleberry denied the claim that he moved the boxes or ever asked Pottle to move the explosives.

“I never asked him to take it from Bragg to Eglin,” Castleberry testified in response to questioning. “This is not in regulations, sir. There is no way you are allowed to transport that.”

Another member of Pottle’s team, Jason Mabe, also testified that he had no knowledge of the cache in Pottle’s home and that if he had, he would have reported it — as he ultimately did when he discovered it in December.

During Tuesday’s testimony, several recorded telephone calls Pottle made from jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges, captured him frantically requesting that the “stuff” in his garage be moved from the house immediately.

Testimony wrapped up in the case on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, jurors will be asked to decide whether evidence indicates the explosives were stolen, whether Pottle knew they were stolen and whether the Army ordered him to harbor them.

Not naming names

According to the Army’s internal investigative report, investigators do not believe Vaughn Pottle was the only one who knew about the explosives found both in his home and stashed near the railroad tracks in Crestview.

When interviewed by the Army, however, Pottle did not name any of the people he said were aware of the explosives, testified Col. Jamal Wigglesworth, the investigating officer in charge of the report.

“He said he was not the only one involved but would not identify anyone else,” Wigglesworth said.

PENSACOLA — In the second day of his trial on charges of harboring stolen military explosives, Vaughn Pottle testified that his Army special forces team supervisor ordered him to take two large bins full of TNT and dynamite and move them from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Florida.

He also told jurors that most, if not all, members of his 12-man Army 7th Special Forces Group team knew that he had the explosives in his home in Baker and that he was regularly asked to bring some of them to training missions on Eglin Air Force Base.

Pottle was the last in a long list of soldiers who took the stand in federal court on Tuesday.

The testimony revealed some undisputed details about where the explosives came from while leaving many questions about who knew what and when.

The Army’s own investigators tracked the cache of explosives found in Pottle’s home in December back to an August 2010 mission when a 7th Group team was sent to Argentina to train their military.

In an unusual twist, the mission was called off after less than a week.

The munitions were returned to the United States in tact and should have been returned to the armory at Fort Bragg where the team was then stationed.

They weren't, investigators discovered.

Days after the Argentine mission was called off, Pottle, a new special forces soldier, joined the team.

He testified that when he showed up, the explosives left over from the Argentina trip were loose in the team’s meeting room at Fort Bragg.

He said he didn’t ask any questions about it.

“When you are a brand new Green Beret, you pretty much keep your mouth shut so I didn't mention it for awhile,” he said.

He knew it was perhaps “unconventional,” but he thought that came with the job and was trying to become a part of the team.

When it came time to move to Eglin in 2011, Pottle planned to pack up and move his belongings himself instead of having the Army relocate him, and he testified that Master Sgt. Marc Castleberry, his team supervisor and the team sergeant on the Argentina mission, asked him to bring the explosives with him.

Pottle did, packing them in crates with rags and plastic wrap so he could “safely” transport them in his U-haul truck.

For most of the time since then, he has stored them in the homes in Baker he has shared with his son, his ex-wife and later his fiancée and her child.

Once at Eglin, Pottle said he was routinely asked to bring some of the explosives from his home to the range for training and that most of his team was aware he was doing that.

He said Castleberry helped him move the explosives once to another 7th Group soldier’s home and then back to his house. His ex-wife, Carie Larson, who was living with him at the time, testified the same.

Castleberry denied the claim that he moved the boxes or ever asked Pottle to move the explosives.

“I never asked him to take it from Bragg to Eglin,” Castleberry testified in response to questioning. “This is not in regulations, sir. There is no way you are allowed to transport that.”

Another member of Pottle’s team, Jason Mabe, also testified that he had no knowledge of the cache in Pottle’s home and that if he had, he would have reported it — as he ultimately did when he discovered it in December.

During Tuesday’s testimony, several recorded telephone calls Pottle made from jail, where he was being held on unrelated charges, captured him frantically requesting that the “stuff” in his garage be moved from the house immediately.

Testimony wrapped up in the case on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, jurors will be asked to decide whether evidence indicates the explosives were stolen, whether Pottle knew they were stolen and whether the Army ordered him to harbor them.

Not naming names

According to the Army’s internal investigative report, investigators do not believe Vaughn Pottle was the only one who knew about the explosives found both in his home and stashed near the railroad tracks in Crestview.

When interviewed by the Army, however, Pottle did not name any of the people he said were aware of the explosives, testified Col. Jamal Wigglesworth, the investigating officer in charge of the report.

“He said he was not the only one involved but would not identify anyone else,” Wigglesworth said.